Watching the Wind
by A Random Author
Summary: Takeshi watches his troops as they spar and when one is injured, he challenges the battles winner to a duel. Rated PG13 for violence.


Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai War or Samurai War RPG. This fic was written for leisurely purposes only and all characters are original to the Silent Wind of Fate on its server. Please enjoy and review.

Takeshi looked out over the fields of Japan, looking over everything that he surveyed, looking out over everything that he had worked so hard to maintain. He was a simple man, but he was a man of strong tradition, morals, and honor. This was his mansion, and sometimes from the rooftop, he would sit out amongst his garden. He owned many material possessions, but, none of them held any value to him. It wasn't meant to hold value to him, for he wasn't one to gloat over what he owned. Again, he was modest and he was a man who held his followers in the highest amount of respect.

He often sat out amongst the falling petals of the cherry blossoms and the snapdragons and the lotuses. It was a simple way to think. It was a simple way to clear his mind. In all honesty, it was just a beautiful sight to behold. He sighed and looked down into his courtyard, seeing Taki and Harumi sparring as they usually did. He smiled slightly and thought to himself, "I swear, there are times that they are relentless with one another… they are so competitive and yet they hold no ill-will towards one another. It is my people who make our clan work. They always train and strive to push their limits. And sometimes, I feel that some may be even more fit to be Emperor than I…"

Shaking his head some, his walked slowly over to a banzai tree, picking up a small trimming knife and beginning to clip off a few branches, then set them down where he had gotten them, exactly how he had gotten them. He pinched one of the branches between his fingers and began to twirl it ever so slightly back and forth. After a short time of seeing the green and brown swirling between his thumb and forefinger, he scooped up the rest of the clippings, walking over to the ledge of the rooftop; he let them loose in the wind, letting the earth return to the earth, as everything shall do when it dies.

He looked down once more and saw his daimyos still sparring with one-another. However, there was a different combatant squaring off with Taki now… Oldmischief. This would be interesting. As of now, Oldmischief had been learning the ways of the Shuriken. Taki, still using the traditional Bokken for sparring… He saw Taki charge and Oldmischief let loose a flurry of the small, bladed throwing-weapons. All of them hit their mark: Taki's wooden sword. Takeshi knew, had the Shurikens hit the Bokken any harder, the blade would have been cut in half, leaving Taki no protection. The battle would have ended. However, that wasn't the case.

Oldmischief watched closely as the younger woman charged and swung with her now bladed weapon. The older, more experienced warrior dodged once and again, moving quickly out of Taki's reach with her blade. Even in her older age, she was very agile. In being so agile, she once again found her way to a distance where she could once again use her Shurikens. Once more, she let loose with another three projectile weapons. Taki turned just in time to block them; however one Shuriken ricocheted against another on her sword, cutting Taki over her cheek, up her eye. Immediately at the sight of blood, the battle was over. Harumi hurriedly moved over to help her friend, as did Oldmischief who was quickly smothering Taki with apologies.

Takeshi, seeing this, began to move down to them, down the staircase of the roof. He made his way to the courtyard to where all three stood. "The winner is Oldmischief by default", he said in his low tones. He ran one hand along his well-groomed beard. "Taki, you should know when to decline a battle… but it is good to see you pushing your limits and training as hard as you possibly can. Just… be more careful. Please…"

The man looked towards Harumi. "Harumi-san… take Taki to Doktor and let him treat her."

Harumi nodded and bowed saying, "Hai, Lord Miyamoto." She quickly complied with his order.

Takeshi's brown eyes now turned to Oldmischief. "You should have taken up a Bokken as well, Lady Mischief. Bladed weapons should not be used against ourselves in sparring." His gaze was cold and hard, peering directly into her eyes, almost (it seemed) into her soul.

"I am sorry, Lord Miyamoto… I, I promise that it won't happen again. I am sorry." It seemed that nearly every word she spoke was accented with a bow. She truly was sorry. She was just learning to use her Shurikens and had not counted on one ricocheting back against Taki. This was something that she had most assuredly learned in the past three minutes.

"I know that you are sorry, Lady Mischief… but please, next time, remember to use more caution." He smirked however. "But now… I challenge you." Upon saying such, he bowed ever so slightly.

Oldmischief was merely baffled, but after a few moments, she nodded and bowed. "Hai." She readied her Shurikens, knowing that her Lord was going to allow her to use them against him.

Takeshi stood ready, his Wakizashi blade still sheathed, which was odd, Oldmischief began to think to herself, but quickly she snapped into action when a sudden, "Begin" was loosed from Takeshi's lips, like the crack of a whip prodding a horse to run faster. Thus, the battle began.

Oldmischief waited for a moment, waiting to see if Lord Miyamoto would ready his blade, but he did not. He merely charged at her, fists at the ready. Realizing that he was indeed at the ready, she began to throw Shuriken after Shuriken after her Lord. He dodged one, after another, after another.

She realized that she had to use her agility against his own. Doing so, she jumped back quickly; each time she landed, her foot pushed off of the ground and her hand threw another Shuriken. Takeshi still ran… or, it seemed, jogged after her, allowing her to get a far enough distance away. Again, Shurikens were loosed at the Lord of the Silent Wind of Fate, but her weapons hit against a strong wind and veered off into the ground.

Before she knew it, her Lord was upon her, taking away the use of her Shurikens as a ranged weapon. She fitted two in each hand and used them as a piercing weapon against her punches. She was quite dexterous, but Lord Miyamoto countered each punch, deflecting it by using his arm to push hers into another direction. She had never seen someone move so fast, nor had she felt such strength until three quick punches of his own landed in the small of her stomach, causing her to wince in pain. His left hand grabbed her right wrist, squeezing on its pressure point and forcing her to open her hand, and drop her Shuriken and just as quickly, his right hand grabbed her left, turning it towards her throat. The needle point merely a quarter of an inch away from her neck.

The battle was over. She was no longer in control of her own weapon and her other arm was immobilized. She had lost and it was now that she realized why he was the Emperor of the clan. She felt his hands loose from hers and saw him step back. He bowed. She stared at him and blinked in awe. It was one of the greatest honors to have your Emperor bow to you, for the Emperor bowed to no man… Hurriedly she remembered her manners and bowed in return.

"I trust that you are alright, Lady Mischief", he said as he began to rise from his bow. "I did not hurt you too badly…?"

"N-no, Lord Miyamoto… I'm fine. Thank you." She replied.

"Thank you for that match. You are very skilled in your weapon studies. You must remember however, that the wind is always a factor. Your weapons are light and they will blow away if given the chance." Again he bowed. "Arigato, Lady Mischief. Arigato."

She bowed once more and headed out to see how Taki was doing in Doktor's care. She might have even needed a little bit of Doktor's attention as well. She was hurt, though not badly, but she knew he could muster up some sort of a salve or pill of some nature to help ease the tightness in her gut.

Lord Miyamoto Takeshi rose from his bow and turned, walking back to the gardens. As he did so, a small breeze began to blow.


End file.
